


Mark

by ThisPeep



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, post viclock angst mostly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 12:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2772401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisPeep/pseuds/ThisPeep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Victor and the man were sitting close together. Comfortable with it. They both relaxed more once they were close again, actually, and Victor’s embarrassed smile told all.</p>
<p>Sherlock felt the urge to bolt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mark

There were a few people that Victor had never expected to see again in his life.

Most of them, actually. But some of them Victor had known rather well and then almost known for a fact he’d never see them again, in a terribly sad way.

One of those people was Sherlock Holmes, ex boyfriend, the main good thing Victor could remember from his days at University. They’d been close in a very singular, very unique way. Neither of them’d had many friends other than each other, and the bond they’d had was more than close.

Still, when Victor had left for a secret government agency they had to all but cut off contact completely. No matter how close they had been before, the strain was too great and they had mutually decided it was best to part. At least until a time came that they could be together again.

That had been years ago. Years and years. Which is why seeing Sherlock, matured and confident, was quite such a strong shock. 

Just because he was in London didn’t mean he’d expected to see Sherlock. London was large. Victor had spent most of his time in it doing secret agent things and generally avoiding populated areas.

But he had also been here a while, and had some downtime. So he and his partner, Mark, had decided to go to a cafe and get some coffee, just to relax and talk.

Victor considered hiding under the table but then Sherlock turned and saw him. Any hope that Sherlock wouldn’t recognize him was banished when Sherlock’s eyes widened in surprise.

There was an awkward bit of staring, and then Sherlock walked over and sat down across from Victor.

Sherlock held back a frown, he couldn’t get a read on Victor. What’d he’d been doing, where he was living. Looks like spy life had improved his skills. Too much. Victor had always been challenging to deduce but still… Sherlock had still been able to. It was a cold reminder of time gone by.

“You look… good.” Sherlock eventually supplied, and Victor smiled.

Sherlock knew that smile. It had been around after they became friends, fondness. But nothing comparable to the smiles Victor used to give Sherlock before he left.

“Thanks. So do you. All… confident and old.”

Sherlock laughed. “Old. Thanks, Victor.”

Victor grinned, relaxing back into his chair. He’d tensed when he saw Sherlock, but this was alright. It was friendly. They hadn’t parted on bad terms, after all.

“Well, it’s true. Don’t worry, I got old too.” Victor replied.

“You’re not old. You’re mature and rugged.” A voice behind Sherlock said, and he turned around to see an amused Asian man sit down next to Victor and place a cup of coffee in front of him. 

Victor blushed and wrapped a hand around the cup, looking down into it. “Hush. Stop making me blush so much.”

Sherlock’s heart did that plummeting thing he’d only experienced a few times. When his dog died, when Victor left, when John got married.

Victor and the man were sitting close together. Comfortable with it. They both relaxed more once they were close again, actually, and Victor’s embarrassed smile told all.

Sherlock felt the urge to bolt.

But he recognized the man. Seen him with Mycroft, but his demeanor had been completely different. Annoyed, assured, cold eyes while he softly but sternly argued with Mycroft about something. 

Now he was warm and loose, content to see Victor blush. Both of them seemed used to it.

“Coleman?” Sherlock asked, gaining the attention of Victor and his… partner. 

They both looked at him in mild confusion, but that’s what Sherlock remembered Mycroft saying the man’s name was. 

Fake, then.

“Oh.” The man chuckled, and sent Victor an amused look. “This is Sherlock, then?”

Victor fell further into confusion. “Yes...?” He wasn’t entirely sure how his partner knew, but then he remembered and started laughing.

“Oh, right! I’d forgotten.”

“You forget everything, Vic.”

“True.”

Sherlock was left to be confused by his lonesome, but then Victor turned his attention to Sherlock.

“Sorry, sorry. This is Mark, he takes different names often for different jobs. Mycroft knows him as Coleman.”

Ah.

“And you two…?”

Oh, right. Victor bit his bottom lip and sent Mark a sidelong glance. Mark knew about Sherlock, Victor had told him everything just like Mark had told Victor about his criminal past and he ex, Ty.

Mark moved his gaze to Sherlock and smiled, Victor would feel guilty replying. Mark wouldn’t. “Live together. And work together.”

“And sleep together.”

Mark seemed unperturbed by Sherlock’s response, but Victor prickled.

The old Victor would have just laughed.

“Sherlock. Don’t be a prat. You can’t honestly be mad that I moved on.”

Well, yes, Sherlock was. Because he hadn’t. Of course, there was an underlying attraction to Moriarty- and Adler had come close as well, but nothing like Victor.

“Victor.” Mark murmured, and Victor glanced over to him and sighed, his tension leaving him again went he met Mark’s eyes. 

Mark was right, of course. It’s not like Victor had given Sherlock any warning, and the last time Victor had seen Sherlock they’d both promised to try and make it work someday. He could see this being an unpleasant shock. 

“I’m sorry, love.” Love. Sherlock tried to ignore that word. “Can you just- just give us a few minutes?”

Mark nodded, placing a soft kiss on Victor’s cheek, and Victor pressed his lips into a line to stop a smile. Even then, the sides of his lips turned up a bit and the pleased blush returned. 

“Alright, I think the barista may know some interesting gossip anyway. Heard her mention something about an affair to her coworker.” Mark replied, and Victor gave a light laugh.

“Tell me the details later. Over some tea.”

Mark smiled and got up to go sweet talk some information out of the barista, and Victor called, “Honey tea! That you make!” After him.

He was practically glowing with love as he watched Mark leave.

Again, that flight reaction kicked up a notch in Sherlock. This wasn’t the type of thing he wanted to see. Victor happy, yes. Victor happy with some guy Sherlock didn’t even know? No, no, not at all.

“So. Mark.”

Victor tilted his head. “Yeah. He’s nice.”

“Just nice?”

Victor sighed, leaning forward in his chair and taking a sip of his coffee. “No, Sherlock, not just nice. This isn’t me trying to compensate and then admitting that I really just want you back.”

Okay.

Okay.

“I did love you. But this thing with me and Mark… it’s good. It’s more than good.” It was almost perfect. Actually, it was perfect, as perfect as it could be with two real human beings with issues and feelings. “I didn’t plan on it. But it didn’t really just happen, either. It’s not like I went out of my way to put you behind me, but… just know I chose this, okay?”

Sherlock gave a short nod.

“I really, really did love you.” Victor added, and his voice shook for a moment near the middle. He did, christ he absolutely adored Sherlock. Sherlock had been his world for such a long time, he’d put the stars in the sky and made the earth turn.

But Mark… Mark remembered all of Victor’s stories. He was there when Victor needed him. Always. He had popcorn and gossip and together they had two cats, one from a rescue and one stray, and Mark was Victor’s best friend. Boyfriend too, of course, but best friend first.

Sherlock had always been thrilling, their relationship had always been electric, but Victor wasn’t a kid anymore. He wasn’t optimistic and cheerful all the time.

Mark was fresh air. He was the life of the party, social butterfly, and completely and utterly in love with Victor. 

“I loved you too, Victor.” Sherlock eventually replied, and Victor blinked away some water welling in his eyes.

“I still love you.” Sherlock added. 

Victor swallowed thickly and nodded. “I know. And some part of me loves you too, William. That part of me won’t stop loving you, I don’t think.”

“Victor.”

“Please, Sherlock. Don’t.”

“You promised me.”

Victor stood up. “Damnit. I _know_ that, Sherlock. I remember. But I promised Mark as well. I promised him everything. If you’d know the hell he’s been to to keep me safe--”

“So what?” Sherlock bit out, resisting the urge to cross his arms like a petulant child. “You stay with him because you owe him? That’s not how relationships are meant to work, Victor. It’s not right.”

Actual anger flashed in Victor’s eyes, but he quickly calmed himself back down. “I stay with Mark because I love him. I love the way he makes up words and knows everyone’s secrets by talking with them, I love the way he tells me absolutely everything. I love his stupid bloody jokes and how easily he worries over me.”

Victor picked up his cup of coffee. “I’m sorry, Sherlock, but us together now? That would be terrible. I’m not the same person you remember. You’re not who I remember. We barely even know each other.”

“I know you, Victor!” Sherlock interjected, then hushed down so as to not draw too much attention. “I know that you love Greek mythology and you can never remember anything, I know what happened to your father and what your different smiles mean. I know your favorite colour and type of fabric and that you’re a dog person--”

Victor smiled. “I have two cats.” He interrupted softly, and Sherlock’s face fell.

“And you knows those things because you looked at me and figured them out. Which is impressive and spectacular, but Mark learned those things because I told him. He remembers every story I tell him, named our two cats after my favorite muses.” 

A sigh, then Victor shook his head. “Do you even remember anything I ever told you, or just what you could figure out on your own?”

Sherlock thought, clawing through his head for something-- _anything_ that would prove he listened to Victor.

“Your sister.”

Victor blinked and waited for Sherlock to continue.

“She loved Paris.”

No. Please no. 

No because Victor gave a sad smile and shook his head again. “That’s not enough, William.”

“Victor…”

“Goodbye.”

Victor turned and left, walking up to Mark. Mark turned at the tap to his shoulder and gave a brilliant smile, then his expression sobered a bit and it was clear he was asking if Victor was okay.

A pause while Victor must have replied, and Mark slipped his hand into Victor’s and squeezed, murmuring something softly and Victor nodded.

Mark turned to the girl he’d been talking to and asked her something. She looked confused but pointed to the back. Mark nodded his thanks then led Victor that way, the two disappearing out the back door.

Sherlock moved his gaze to Victor’s coffee cup.

“Goodbye, Vic.”

**Author's Note:**

> reading old rp's with my OC Mark and Victor Trevor and ending having a lot of emotions so this happened


End file.
